7 Great Ways to Celebrate Halloween in Yorkshire

18 Oct 2018

With the shops already full of Christmas goodies and decorations, it’s easy to forget about Halloween. If the kids are already tugging at your sleeves in excitement, or if you’re determined to do something for Halloween for the first time in years, take a look at our top tips to help you celebrate the spooky season!

1. Get out and do something with the kids

There are tons of child-friendly events across Yorkshire in the run up to Halloween. Cannon Hall in Barnsley is holding a Pumpkin Festival and Young Witches and Wizards event in the run up to Halloween, where you can pick your own pumpkins and get involved in some fab activities. If you fancy something a bit scarier, Sheffield Cemetery are holding a screening of Ghostbusters and The Addams Family during the day, and then a torch-lit trail through the graveyard after dark. Sheffield’s Tropical Butterfly House is even getting in on the action with their Halloween Spooktacular - you can brave a “ghoulish tractor ride” where you will encounter ghosts and monsters, visit the witches cottage and meet her owl and of course you still get to meet all the resident animals and creepy-crawlies! Little Monster's Halloween Party at The Moor is also back, with apple bobbing, face painting and the gruesome Bushtucker Cafe, and with free entry, you really need to add it to your calendar. If you're struggling for time, combine a shopping trip to Meadowhall with a visit to the Witches' Kitchen. Your budding witch or wizard will be able to help head chef Gruella De'Spill make gruesome potions, sing "toe-tingling" songs and meet a host of other spooky characters.

2. Get out and do something with your mates

If you fancy something a bit scarier (well, a LOT scarier), Halloween events aimed at adults have become all the rage over the last few years. Yorkshire Scaregrounds in Wakefield is set in deserted woodland where you have to navigate a dark trail full of scary actors to make it into their themed rooms which include a zombie outpost, torture room and a hotel full of killer clowns. There are events like this all across the region, however if you’d rather something a little more tame, Sheffield’s Out of this World festival takes place in the city centre on the 28th, is completely free, and celebrates all things sci-fi, magic and Halloween.

3. Classic pumpkin carving

We’re all guilty of carving a lovely pumpkin, watching it rot on the windowsill for a week and then binning it. Most children love the idea of pumpkin carving, and since a pretty sharp knife is needed, not all children are old enough to be getting hands on. A great way to involve them is by using the inside of the pumpkin in a recipewhether it be pumpkin soup, risotto, pie or tarts, kids will be excited to find out what pumpkin actually tastes like, and you will get a bit more value for your money!

4. Halloween baking

Bake some spooky buns or some gingerbread ghosts with the kids. They will love it; you’ll get to eat some too, and if there are any left over you can bring them into work to get some “brownie points” from your colleagues – win/win!

5. Have a garden camp-out

I know I’m not the only one who has a barely-used tent sat in a cupboard at home – Halloween is a great excuse to dust it off and have a camp out in the garden with the kids! Better still, Halloween falls in half-term week this year for some schools, so grab a couple of torches and some snacks and spend a spooky night in the garden.

6. Staying in on the night?

It can be tempting to just turn the lights off and pretend you’re not in (my parents were always huge ambassadors for this). Just remember, it’s one night a year that all the kids in the neighbourhood look forward to for weeks, so buy a few multipacks of sweets and chocolates, compliment their awesome costumes when they knock on the door and you will literally make their day.

7. Going out on the night?

Whether you’re going to a fancy dress party or just heading for town to see what’s going on, do not leave it til last minute to get your outfit! Don’t be the person who ends up in a black top and jeans with some cat whiskers drawn on your face in eyeliner, or the suit you wore to your auntie’s wedding with the addition of some fangs and a bit of blood - you will spend the night thinking of all the creative outfits you could’ve come up with if you’d have planned a week before. Same goes for trick or treating – nothing worse than dragging a heart-broken 7 year old around every supermarket in your area an hour before they are due to go trick or treating. If they end up in a witches hat with a black bin bag as a cape (as I did many times as a child), you won’t hear the end of it for weeks.